The MockingJay Dilemma Part 2
by BohemiaLX
Summary: After the events of the Hunger Games Scarlett is relied upon now more than ever, to bring down the Capitol...But can she really do that to her father...?
1. Chapter 1

**Part 2 as promised...**

The last time my eyes closed I believed I was dead. Now they are open I find that I am on an aircraft to a district I believed had been pulverised. The two people I believed to be Harry and Exma are in fact people called Haymitch and Cinna.

"Come on, it's okay. You won't be hurt. You're safe here." Cinna extends a hand for me to take. The bedroom I am in currently is white and quite large. You can see why I mistook it for heaven. Haymitch and Cinna are sitting on my bed. They want me to go see someone called 'original mockingjay'. I haul myself out of the bed, refusing Cinna's hand. All I've learnt about the two, albeit not much is a lie. They pull open the door and allow me to go through first. The hallway is long and extends three ways; left, right and forward.

"Scarlett!"

I look to the left to see someone running forward.

"Nevara!" I scream back. I run towards her. Half in disbelief. She has a bandage around her head just like me.

"What happened to you?" I ask as we hug.

"Xavier knocked me out and the next thing I knew I was here."

"Sorry to interrupt," Haymitch starts, "but we're on a schedule."

Nevara stands in front of me. "I'm coming with her."

"You haven't got clearance." Cinna replies.

"Please," I say, "I need a familiar face." They exchange a look and then nod. Nevara joins us and they explain everything along the way.

When I got chosen for the Games, it was purely by accident.

"When we saw what you did, refusing the volunteers, it gave us an idea. It was Katniss's idea to-"

"Who's Katniss?" I ask.

"She's the leader of the rebellion. Well technically she's the face." Haymitch answers.

Cinna continues, "To create another mockingjay. Get the public to fall in love with you and then get you to manipulate them into siding with us rebels when we finally come out in public. The plan was to tell you and Duncan and get you both to fake fall in love, but Haymitch and I saw that it was already happening for real."

"You switched the papers in the reaping bowl!" It makes sense. On the opening ceremony Cinna collided with someone who was holding a bowl filled with my name. Snow was supposed to pull out my name and I was supposed to be granted immunity from the games. But Cinna must have switched the names when he bumped into the man.

Cinna nods to agree. "We needed you in the games. It was the only way to ensure you would be seen by everyone and also, we planned to rescue you from the games. It was the only way to get you away from the Capitol."

We turn another corner, it's like this aircraft goes on forever.

"Anyway, the original plan was for you and Duncan. But then that Xavier kid got in the way," Haymitch takes over. "So I told Duncan to back off a little, let him be with you in the lime light."

They don't know. They don't know the real reason why Xavier was pretending to be in love with me. I'll have to ask him what he told Haymitch... But I can't... A pain hits my chest and I want to curl up in a ball and cry again. He's dead. Duncan's dead. Thinking about him brings too much pain for me. It's unbearable.

"What exactly did...Duncan...tell you that night?"

"Your mother used to be Snow's mistress and Snow favoured her. That's why he needed to get you out of the games. So he told you to pretend to love Xavier and in exchange you would be exonerated from playing the games due to the overwhelming support you would have got from the Capitol public."

I nod. That's pretty much it apart from the fact that President Snow is my father. This explains why Haymitch pushed me into the tube.

"We told Duncan our plan and let him in on everything. We hatched a plan to get you out of the games on the second night, at the Cornucopia. He was going to make sure you got there. We were going to blow the force field." Cinna squeezes my shoulder to comfort me; that was why Dunc wanted me to go there.

"Duncan persuaded us to tell Xavier everything, so we told him before the games and he was on our side right from the start."

"So why did he try to kill me?"

"He didn't. He hit you to make it look like you were dead. So we could get you into the aircraft carrier without suspicion."

"He did the same to me." Nevara says.

"Exactly." Haymitch answers. "He stabbed your arm because he was getting out your tracker chip."

"Wait..." Something doesn't make sense, "I don't get it. If you were going to blow the force field originally and make a scene, why did you just do that?"

"Because of Duncan." Cinna pushed open a door and allows us through first, "When he died, you stirred some commotion in the districts. His death was really emotional. But it's because of that, that Snow gave orders for you to be killed."

All the breath is knocked out of me. He wanted me dead? My own father?

"How do you-" I stop, and have to start again, I'm not sure how I feel about Snow wanting me dead. "How do you know this?"

"Because we had an informant inside. He was the head Game-maker. Plutarch Heavensbee. He sent the career pack after you once Xavier was on our side, knowing that he would keep you safe." "How did you get away from the peacekeepers when you pushed me into the tube?" I ask Haymitch. Surely Snow wouldn't have let him live for what he had done, and the room is a dead end, so how did he escape.

"Trap door, led me to the aircraft and we flew away and waited for you."

We are in front of a large iron door. Cinna pushes it open. The wall opposite the door is nonexistent; instead it is a glass huge window, seven times the size of a normal wall. The roof is glass as well. The wall of glass joins onto a floor of glass that eventually runs onto plush red carpet. A large brown table is on the carpet. A woman with brown hair in a braid is sitting, sipping tea in a mug. When she sees us she stands up.

"Hi." She is playing with a ring on her finger, she's married. She looks to be in her mid thirties.

"Hello." I reply.

After that there is a long moment of silence. I try not to make eye contact and make it even more awkward than it already is.

We sit down at the table.

"So here's the deal," Katniss states quite bluntly, "we need you to be the next MockingJay."

She explains in detail what it will entail; being the face of the rebellion is the main point.

"I'll do it." I nod.

"Scar, think about what this will mean." I almost forgot Nevara was with us, she's been quiet.

"I have. If it means the Capitol goes down, then I'll do it."

"Good to have you with us." Katniss extends a hand and I take it. "I feel sorry for the Capitol. I would hate to have you as an enemy."


	2. Chapter 2: District 13

Chapter 2

"The aircraft will be landing shortly." A soldier has come by the table and told us. Straight as he leaves, the silence returns. But this time it is filled with the quiet rapping as Katniss taps her fingernails on the table. Haymitch has started shaking his leg. They are both clearly in a hurry to get to district 13. Cinna has his hands on his chest as he leans back, he is playing with his thumbs. When it lands they practically run to the elevator, pulling Nevara and me with them.

We walk down some escalators that lead to the deserted ruins of district 13. Their Justice building is crumbling.

"There's no one here," I say.

"This isn't the place." Haymitch replies. We are then led into their justice building, this whole endevour is so complicated. No wonder the Capitol have never found them.

There is yet another elevator to go into. Haymitch, Cinna, Nevara, Katniss and I go into the first elevator and the soldiers that have been accompanying us go into the other one.

When the doors ping shut its like the three can hardly contain their excitement.

"Okay, why are you all so impatient?" Nevara asks.

"We haven't seen our families in over two weeks, or had any contact with them what so ever." Cinna answers.

"Two weeks doesn't seem like much." I state.

"I've been with nobody but soldiers in that stupid aircraft for two weeks." Katniss replies, "two weeks too long."

The doors ping open and its like Haymitch is going to yell like a girl.

The doors open into some sort of canteen. There are wooden chairs and tables on a marble floor with pillars, its a very sophisticated canteen. Several people are waiting, when the doors open all eyes are on us-well I can just about see that, Haymitch, Cinna and Katniss are standing in front of Nevara and me.

"Haymitch!" Someone squeels. A red headed woman with curls runs foreward as he steps out of the elevator and hugs him tightly. Cinna and Katniss emerge and people swarm around them.

Me and Nevara awkwardly stand at the side as everybody happily greets each other. Katniss introduces her husband Peeta and her daughter Primrose and her son Gale. Haymitch's wife, Effie, pulls him along as she comes to greet us.

"It is so wonderful to have you both on board." She chirps. I almost flinch when I hear her accent. She's from the Capitol. Haymitch is playing a boy who lookes about fifteen, he has Effie's red hair and the Haymitch's eyes. No doubt its their son. He is holding a blonde haired girl who is his daughter.

Cinna comes over with a woman. "Hello, I'm Portia, pleased to meet you." We shake her hand. Nevara is called by Haymitch to meet his daughter because apparently she is fascinated by her blue hair. A teenage boy comes over with an older woman. The older woman has bags under her eyes, and a faraway look.

"Hi," says the boy,"this is my mother Annie and I'm Tristan." I shake their hands.

"Pleased to meet you both." I reply. Annie smiles and then wanders off, leaving her son to catch up with her.

"May I have your attention please!" Someone yells. The hubbub dies down and the crowd parts to allow a woman with dark brown eyes and dark hair to be seen.

"Could the ones with clearance please make their way to the war room." Then she turns around and walks out. Katniss comes over. "Come on, that means you."

Nevara walks as we do but is stopped by Katniss, "I'm sorry, you don't have the clearance. Normally I would try and get you in, its just that this meeting is really important."

Nevara looks worriedly at me.

"I'll be fine, I swear." I reassure her.

"Promise me you won't do anything wreckless."

"I promise."

I am led down flights of stairs. The whole of District 13 is situated underground. Apparently it was the district of nuclear weapons, which is why the Capitol left them alone. The war room is exactly what it seems like. A room equipted with many machines, and charts on grey walls. On a higher level there are rows of computers. Down a few steps there is a large grey table with twelve chairs around it.

Katniss, Peeta, Cinna, Haymitch and someone I don't know sit down. I sit beside Cinna, he is the only person who I trust. Haymitch is far to unstable.

"I am President Paylor." The woman who told us to come here is sitting at the head of the table.

"And I'm Gale." The man who I don't know says. He extends a hand across the table I shake it, just as I shook all the other hands. "Are you Gale number one or two?" I joke.

He laughs. "I'm one."

"We named Junior after his uncle Gale." Katniss explains.

"Okay. Pleasantaries aside, let's get down to business." Paylor begins. "Plutarch Heavensbee is our inside informant. Now that you have escaped the games he will be coming here. Currently he is on an aircraft on his way. Once here he will be in charge of our form of propaganda."

"What do you mean by Propaganda?" I ask.

"Publicity. He will be shooting a few short adverts publicising the rebellion, you will be starring in them as well as you Katniss."

Katniss nods, her husband Peeta starts clenching his fists. She rubs his back,

"Its okay Peeta your safe."

"What's going on?" I whisper to Cinna. He explains quickly that in the second rebellion Peeta was kidnapped by the Capitol and they injected him with Tracker Jacker Venom. It messed with his head and sometimes he has flashbacks, the venom made him think stuff, and after that I stopped listening because I got confused.

"Now," Paylor begins, "We-"

There is a loud beeping sound and Gale rushes to the computer. He taps the keyboard and on a large screen behind Paylor an image is projected.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" A man on the screen says.

"Plutarch," Paylor greets him. He is the informant. The background clearly shows him on an aircraft.

"There's a weapon!" He yells.

"What? Plutarch calm down what are you talking about?" Katniss replies.

"We're being attacked. I was going to tell you when I got there-"

The screen shakes a bit.

"Plutarch-"

"Don't interupt" it becomes fuzzy, "they know you took Scarlett and that other girl." Only his voice comes through, the colours on the screen are muddled, "they are sending warships as we speak. But they have a secret weapon. I heard Snow talking about it. Its his, he must keep it close to him. If we can get that weapon, then we have a great chance of winn-"

The screen goes blank.

We sit there silent.

"Gather all the civillians and lead them to the caves." She orders the guards. They do as she says.

"Snow must have a weapon in his mansion. That's where he keeps all his prized possesions." I say.

"How do you know?" Haymitch asks.

"I just do." I snap back, "if we can get there we can get the weapon. We need to send someone in."

"I'll go." Katniss is the quickest to volunteer.

"I want to go in too." I say after a moment of thought. Anything to bring down Snow, and also I promised I wouldn't do anything wreckless. So my few quick moments of thought showed that it wasn't a wreckless decision.

Paylor is about to say something but the screen behind her fuzzes and an image is fed through. We all turn our attention to it. A blurry figure with blonde hair is on the screen.

The image fixes itself and a pair of grey eyes are looking at us.

"Xavier?" I shoot up out my seat, then slowly sit back down when I realise everyone is looking at me.

"Let me guess, the rebellion right?"

Paylor nods. "Do you have any news for us agent?"

Xavier is on our side.

"Urrr let me think..." He taps his chin then opens his mouth to say something, then he closes it, "hmm no, that wasn't it." He is doing it to get on Paylor's nerves. "Oh yes, I remember now." He clears his throat. "Its from Snow. He said, 'give back Scarlett.'"

"I believe I also said,"

There is another voice in the background. President Snow comes from behind the screen and stands behind Xavier. "Or else I will bomb distrct 13 into oblivion."

"Ah yes, I knew I was forgetting something." Its like they're both a double act. Why is he on side with Snow? Xavier helped me, he's on our side.

"District 13 is highly protected. You can bomb all you like, nothing is going to happen."

Snow exaggerates a sigh. "I suppose you are right. I guess I'll just have to drop the bombs elsewhere, I do hate a waste" he shouts to someone, "oh captain, could you please direct us to District 10."

When he says district ten, he looks straight at me.

"Mom..." I whisper. She will die if he bombs 10.

"Now you have a choice Scarlett. Come with us. Or else everybody you ever loved will die."

Its nothing shocking. I knew he would bring out something like this. "Why do you want me to come with you when you only want me dead."

"We will discuss this later. Now come outside. We are here."

"I didn't say I was coming with you." I say it through my gritted teeth.

"My dear," he holds an amused expression on his face, "something tells me you will come."

He gestures to someone and the screen fuzzes as a loud ear piercing scream fills the air. Its a female scream. I recognise the scream.

Its my mother.

Anastasia.

Snows face is now grave, and not to be triffled with. "I believe we have an understanding." He looks to me for recognition, to see if I have understood what the scream means. If I don't come he will kill my mother. "Empty threats are an unnecessary load Scarlett," he speaks to me as if he is a father giving his daughter a lesson in life, "I carry the full ones." The screen goes blank.

I stand up and rush to the door. The guard doesn't let me out. I bang on it.

"Cadett I order you to stop." Paylor yells.

"He's got my mother! My mother. And he's not lying, he will kill her if don't come." My breath is fast time is running out, if I don't get there quick he'll kill her. "Look I'll get the weapon. Okay? Just let me go!"

They all look at each other. "Its a reasonable plan." Cinna is on my side.

"Fine." Says Paylor. "But you have three days to retrieve it or else you come back empty handed. We will come and get you."

The door opens and I am about to walk out.

"Wait," Katniss says, "why does Snow want you so bad?" She knows something is not right. I curse her intuition under my breath.

"Because," I make my way down the hall and shout back, "I'm his daughter."

Then I break into a sprint and hope to I'm not too late.


	3. Chapter 3: Back to the Capitol

Chapter 3

I am above ground. Standing outside district 13's Justice building. Looking up. The sky has gone dark, a huge aircraft has taken all light away and I stand in the shadow of it. Escalators are lowered and ten peacekeepers all run down. Two of the apprehend me by my arms and lead me up the escalators. Once up I am led to a large room much like the one I met Katniss in. Only instead of Katniss, President Snow is sitting at the table.

"Where is she?" My teeth a gritted as I say it, I want to yell and scream at him. To rip his throat out would be ideal. Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it. Nobody.

"Calm down. I assure she is safe and will remain safe as long as you comply. Take a seat."

I do as he says and never take my eyes off him. Duncan's father always said to never take your eyes off a snake, because that's when it will strike. He turns on a television.

It is screening the games. Xavier and I are on the screen. Its moments before he knocks me out. But before he does the screen flicks away it goes to one tribute chasing after another. Snow presses a button on the remote and it fast forwards. It goes to many different scenes. Lila, Aira, Kairo and Wolfe are all dead. I pity them, because with Xavier gone they all turned on each other. In a scene resting on the Cornucopia, Claudias Templesmith booms over head.

"Attention Tributes, there has been a slight rule change. Two tributes from any district may now win. That is all."

My eyes widen. But not as much as they widen when the next scene comes on. Its me a Xavier. In the games. He keeps fast forwarding until there is a scene in a meadowy area.

"How is that possible... I wasn't in the games..."

"Neither was Xavier. I thought it was best to take him out of the games once he helped you escape. But it is amazing what computer graphics can do. But look closely."

He's right, it is amazing. But as I focus on the screen the fake me's skin is much too flawless and waxy. My eyes look vacant.

He skips the scene ahead to Xavier and I locked in battle with two tributes. Their canons are fired and a klaxon blares.

"Congratulations." Snow says, "you won the Hunger Games."

"But why?" I stutter. This situation doesn't make sense. "First you wanted me out of the games, then you wanted me dead, now you make me win the Games."

"Admitedly I was rash to give out instructions for your death. But now I realise all that happened was not your fault. You were merely and chip in the game. So instead you will be crowned Victor with Xavier. All of Panem knows you are on a hovercraft on your way to be crowned. Now the crew will prepare you."

I am rushed away. I don't know where Xavier is or what happened to him. But I can guess. Cinna told me that when Peeta was injected with the tracker jacker venom it altered his entire personality. They manipulated him using it. They must have manipulated Xavier into being on their side.

I am dressed in a purple dress by Freya. It turns out Cinna was the one with the fashion sense. She smiles at me, clearly she has no idea what is going on. She goes around the back of the dress and poofs the skirt. It looks so princess-y. Like I'm in a fairytale, I'm not. I'm in a nightmare.

"How is the baby?"

I blink hard. This is the first time I have heard Freya speak. She has a very strong Capitol accent.

"Its fine." I say. I'm guessing pretending to be pregnant is part of the deal...but everyone saw me in the fake fight with the other tribute... "Actually..." I don't know whether I should continue, but I'm sick and tired of lying, "I lost the baby in the arena."

"Oh dear. Well that is too bad." She walks around the front holding a huge needle.

"Wha-"

She puts a finger to her lips to silence me. I understand and stop talking. She is part of the rebellion. She injects the needle between my ear and my jaw. My eyes water as it pierces my skin. It releases some green liquid with little metal balls.

Once she withdraws the needle I can hear static in my brain.

"Hello?" I hear a voice.

"Hello?" I reply back. Freya mouths to me. _Don't reply, they can hear everything_. By they she means the Capitol. The have the room bugged.

"I'll leave you alone to relax." Freya says.

She leaves and I listen to the voice in my head.

"She can hear us Paylor." I recognise it. Its Gale. "Listen Scarlett don't reply. This is a chip implanted into your brain. It means you can communicate with us as we can with you. You'll report back your findings after each day. We can hear and see everything you do. If you close your eyes then we can't."

That will come in helpful. Its quite intrusive for them to be watching my every move.

Once I am ready I am rushed out of the aircraft where I meet with Xavier. We are taken through the streets of Panem in a chariot and helped onto a stage. President Snow picks up a crown from a cushion and splits it into two, placing it on both our heads. The crowd goes wild with applause, its almost deafening. Xavier takes my hand and holds it high in the air. After a minute or so he puts it down and a stagehand runs on stage with a microphone.

"Can I have everyone's attention please," he booms. The cheers quieten down. He wanders in front of me and talks more to the crowd than me.

"Scarlett, I've only known you for a few weeks. But I know already that you are the one for me." The crowd ahh's, playing right into his hand. I have to stop from rolling my eyes. Then he gets down on one knee and takes my hand.

Oh no. God no! My eyes are widening with complete and utter shock.

"Will you marry me?"

No! I want to scream it. Yell it from the roof. Never. But I know there is only one thing I can say. "Yes." I cough out.

And the crowd roars, while Snow smiles.

I have been lying in bed for an hour, still in the tributes apartment. Except now Xavier is sharing our apartment.

"Scarlett? Its me, Katniss." Her voice is coming from my head.

"Hi," I reply. Even if my room is bugged, they can't really do anything about me communicating to them. If they kill me, the people of Panem will suspect something.

"We saw what happened today...I'm sorry."

"Its okay." I don't feel like talking, but I'll be nice. "So is it just you there?"

"Yes. Everyone else is asleep. I'm in the war room." There is a little silence, she wants to say something. "You can talk to me if you want." She says.

"Thanks. But I doubt you'll understand what I'm going through."

"Try me. I was a tribute along with Peeta from district 12. We were the last survivers in the games. They said there could be two tributes from our the same districts but at the last minute they withdrew the rule and we had to kill each other. But we didn't. I can up with a way out."

"What was it," I turn my head to the side and close my eyes, trying to imagine what happened to her, putting a face to the story.

"We commited suicide. There were these berries that were poisonous. They let us win before we died. But Snow wasn't happy. We accidently started a rebellion. I was told to act like a sweet little girl who was in love. Peeta even proposed to me in front of Panem. So I know how you feel."

I take it in. I guess she knows how I feel more than I estimated. "What happened then?"

"It didn't work. Peeta and I didn't end up getting married, instead we were sent into the Hunger Games again for the quatre quell. Snow hoped we would die. Long story short, Haymitch busted us out and we came to district 13. Well, just I did. Peeta was accidentally left in the games."

"Cinna told me about that. The tracker jacker venom thing?"

"Its a form of torture."

"I think they used it to alter Xavier's mind frame."

"Its possible." She replies.

"So how did you lose the rebellion?" I want her to finish telling the story. Maybe it will give me an indication of how mine will end.

"The President at the time was a woman called President Coin she didn't like me much. Anyway, we were winning, we were only a few yards away from getting to Snow. He had some childeren around his mansion as a human shield." I always suspected him to be awful, but that is just plain cowerdly, "Coin sent in bombs to the childeren as containers. My sister was there. She was a nurse. She died with everyone else."

"I'm so sorry," my voice comes out as a whisper. She's been through so much. "What was her name?"

"Primrose."

She named her daughter after her sister.

"Its alright. I dealt with the pain. Anyhow, the point is, I know how you feel. And I am so sorry. About your whole situation. Its history repeating itself. Well except for the fact that you're President Snow's daughter." I yelled it as I left and didn't let them reply or react.

"I'm should have told you from the start."

"Yes you should have." She has a mothering tone now. "But I understand why you didn't. Having Snow as a father isn't exactly something to be proud of."

"He's still got my mom."

"I'll see what I can do about that." She says. "Nevara's very angry."

"Oh god, I completely forgot about her." Its the second time and she must be so angry at me. She specifically told me not to do anything wreckless, and the minute I heard a scream like my mom's I ran out.

"Don't worry. She's mad at you but she'll come around eventually. Her and Tristan have been getting along."

I laugh at the thought of her and Tristan together.

"Okay, well, I'll let you get to sleep. Peeta will be wondering where I am."

"Goodnight." I don't want her to go. This will be the first time I go to sleep since Duncan died. I am so tired. But if I go to sleep, I don't want to face the awful nightmare that will await. Despite my worries, my mind slips away from me


	4. Chapter 4: The Weapon

**Please Review! How's the story going so far? This chapter is dedicated to sirius-remus-lily because-well you'll se why**

Chapter 4: the dream

My eyes gently open to a bright white room. Happiness floods me when I hear a familiar voice.

"You're up."

I sit up and look at my surroundings. I'm on a comfortable cream coloured double bed in a large room with white walls and wooden floorboards. There is a balcolny and white curtains are flowing in the gentle summer breeze. But the owner of the voice is sitting on a rocking chair next to a moses basket. He's holding a little baby in a white onesie. His brilliant blue eyes are staring at me with a smile on their face.

"Duncan," I whisper.

He gets up with the baby in his arms and sits on the bed opposite me, leans over and kisses me. I don't bother questioning how he is here. Because he isn't with me, I am with him. I'm dreaming, I know I am.

"Where are we?" I ask. My gaze drifts to the little baby girl in his arms. She has sweet blue eyes and barely and hair on her pinky face. Newborn. Her eyes are looking around the room. I put my finger in her hand and my heart skips a beat when she closes her tiny fist around it.

"We're in a dream world." He watches me playing with the baby, "here," he passes her to me. I mouth a hello to the girl and grin as I coo.

"How are you?" I ask.

"I'm dead," I flinch when he says that, "I'm sorry. Too soon?"

"Its been a day and a little." But it felt like forever. "She's adorable." She starts weaving my hair around her hand.

"You don't need to feel guilty you know." He says.

"But I do." I feel guilty about accepting Xavier's proposal.

"I'm gone. What was it I told you to do?"

I don't answer. To let him go. That was what he told me. But I can't. There's this huge vacant chasm in my heart that I'm trying to fill, but nothing seems to work.

"You have to find the weapon." He changes the subject, knowing how it is making me feel. "Do you know how to do that?"

"No. I have no clue."

"I have some clues." He says, "its big."

"That's really helpful," I mock.

He laughs, "it was created sixteen years ago."

I frown. "How do you know all this."

"Intuition, its Snow's favourite. Nobody knows about it. They all believe the weapon is an object. But its not. That's all I can tell you."

"Alright." The baby gurgles, "who is, this little angel," the last part I say in a baby voice to her.

"I'm just hanging out with her until she ready to be born."

"Are you stuck here," my voice is hushed now.

"No. I can leave whenever I want. But its this little girl and her mommy keeping me here. I'm watching over them both."

"They're lucky to have you." I press my forehead against his.

"I'm lucky to have them." He counters.

He kisses me gently on the lips and I feel myself slipping away from him. Just as I do I hear his word.

"You already know what the weapon is. You figured it out the minute I said 16."

My eyes close and I fall away, back to the real world.

In the dark room I sit up in bed. Trying to remember what he told me. I already know deep down inside what the weapon must be. Its so obvious.

"Me," I breathe.

The weapon is me.


	5. Chapter 5: A shock

**Read and Review**

Chapter 5

I get up and put on my shoes quickly. I'm the weapon? It makes sense but I don't believe it. Not until I hear it from the horses mouth.

I slip out of the building and into the quiet streets of the Capitol.

"Is anyone awake." I whisper. I'm whispering it into my brain chip. There's no reply. They're asleep.

I sneak around buildings to get to the gates of Snow's mansion. Its guarded by peacekeepers. I hide behind a pillar of a building and pick up a nearby rock and throw it in the opposite direction. It makes a loud clang and just one of the peacekeepers goes to check it out. I do it again with three more rocks quickly. The Peacekeeper that went to check it out yells, I hit him, and the other goes to help him.

I take my chance and jump over the gate. I manouver between hedges and bushes until I find myself underneath Snow's balcolny. I think I've been here before. When I was a child. I met Snow once, but I didn't know he was my father. We spent the day together. He showed me around the Capitol. Then towards the evening he showed me around his rose garden. He gave me a guided tour of his mansion and I never forget anything I saw or anything he told me. He told me he kept all his precious possessions there. He showed me the stars through a large telescope he had in his very own astronomy tower. I fell asleep looking up at the sky and the next thing I remembered was waking up back in the tribute house with the tributes who were competing that year from 10.

Now what? If I asked him, he could lie straight to my face. But if I found evidence... I know six windows down from his balcolny will be his study. The wall is too high for me to climb to the window. But if I had a rope I could climb up to his balcolny and step along the ledge to the window, pry it open and climb inside. But I don't have a rope, but there is a hose pipe. I take it and tie one end around my waist, tugging it to make sure its secure. The other end, with the nozzle of the hose pipe, I chuck around the railing of the balcolny and it falls back down again, creating a loop. I pull the side with the nozzle and that makes the pipe around my waist tighten as it hoists me up into the air. I clamber onto the platform of it and start shuffling onto the ledge. Counting down the windows until I reach the sixth. I pry it open with force and climb inside.

His study is exactly how I remember it. A large mahogany desk, leather chair and two flags of Panem behind him. There is a filing cabinet on the other side of the room.

"Shoot!" I whisper. Its dark and I have no flashlight. I look around and spot a lamp on his desk. I unplug it and plug it ontop of the cabinet. I open it up and begin sifting around for files on me.

Its organised alphabetically but also by dates. There are a total of five drawers in the cabinet each one is a different year and is organised alphabetically. I look for a year I was born in but it only dates back five years ago. That's probably all he needs. Every five years the cabinet must get moved to some sort of archive. I flick through some of the files, its all financial stuff and things about Panem and the games.

He must keep the files on me somewhere hidden. I look around the room, if I was him, where would I keep the stuff? In his desk. I take the lamp and look through the drawers, to to bottom. Nothing. But one the last drawer catched my eye. It looks big on the outside but is smaller on the inside. A secret compartment! I take out all the papers and pile them up in the order they are in to make sure no suspicion will be aroused in the morning. I knock on the floor of the drawer, its hollow. Pressing down on one side makes the other side come up, I gently pull up the fake bottom and put it aside. There is a file in here, and its marked XVII. I put everything back, apart from the file. Before tucking it into my trousers I read the first page and skim until I find my mothers name. I hear a noise out in the hallway. Quickly, I make sure the room is as it was before and make my way out. I shut the window quietly and swiftly climb from the ledge to the balcolny and lower myself down. I pull the hosepipe down and put it back where it was. I run from hedge to hedge and throw a rock from behind the gate, again the peacekeepers leave and I jump over. When I get back to my room I search for any recording devices. I find one behind my bed and move it to the kitchen then I come back and take out the folder, set myself down on the bed and begin to read

It is formatted as a file. With information.

**Anastasia Cadett**

**District 10**

**Subject is 24 years of age.**

**Gestation has been three months.**

**In the expirement proposed-**

Experiment? Snow got his sick scientists to experiment on my mother. When she was pregnant with me. Oh god, I brace myself to read the entire file.

**The following formula was injected into the foetus.**

"It would be easier if I told you."

I look up to see a dark figure standing next to the door. He shuts the door and walks towards me. It President Snow.

"How did you know I took this?" I was very careful, I left no trace that I had been there.

"The mansion has survelience Scarlett. Though I commend you for your stealth. If it weren't for the camera's I'd have never known."

He sits on a stool that is in front of the dressing table. The light of the moon brings out every wrinkle of his face. He looks so tired, so worn out.

"So what's in the file then?" I ask. I keep the file open in my lap just to check that what he tells me is not a lie.

"Roughly sixteen years ago, your mother told me she was pregnant with my child, I was..." He sighs and rubs his eyes, "less than elated. If it got out then it would be a complete scandal. So I allowed your mother to leave the Capitol and return to district 10."

"I know all this."

"I know." He sighs and puts his hands together, like a man in confession, "three months after, I received a call from your mother. Something wasn't right with the baby. I sent over people to retrieve her. The minute she got here she was sent to a private area of the hospital."

I've never heard this part of the story. I don't know whether to believe or not. But I scan through the first page and find that he is telling me the truth.

"What was wrong?" Its hard to think of me as the baby he is refering to.

"You were dying." He hunches his shoulders over and looks at the floor, he's playing with his thumbs now. "Your heart was failing."

"How did you save me," I can feel the drag of my mouth as I star at him. I'm not frowning, but my muscles have all dropped. I know he is going to tell me something horrible now, I can feel it.

"You have to understand, Scarlett, that if you had died I would never have forgiven myself. One of my scientist had been working on an experiment to create a breed of undefeatable soldiers. It involved fusing their bodies with a chemical that would enhance them in every way. I allowed him to inject that into you. It was the only way." He keeps looking at the floor. Refusing any eye contact with me.

"What else?" I say quietly. There's more, I know it. He doesn't reply, I'm getting angry now. "What else," I say through my gritted teeth.

"The chemical reacted badly. So you became a half soldier. But the scientist managed to fix it so that part of you nature would only emerge in life or death situations, like a surival instinct."

I sigh, that wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. "But that means I'm not much of a weapon."

"You are." He now lifts his eyes, "you have the power to bring down the Capitol. You could destroy me easily." He returns his gaze to the floor, "and you might, after what I tell you." He opens his mouth to talk but falters, then he sighs and rubs his eyes, "the chemical reacted badly with you. But it reacted worse with your mother. It infected her."

"Is that why she's so quiet and distant," It would explain many things.

"No. She's quiet and distant, because she's," he pauses and then gets up and goes towards the door. Just before he leaves he turns around, "because she's not your mother. The real Anastasia Cadett died sixteen years ago Scarlett." And then he leaves.

** SORRY I HAVE TAKE A HIATUS. But I doubt anyone cares**


End file.
